Economy
Hungary Constitutional Court overrules objection to 'slave law'
The ‘slave law’ raised the cap on overtime work to 400 hours a year from 250 (or 300 as stipulated in collective agreements) and gave companies three years instead of one to pay for the work.
Opposition MPs, more than a quarter of the lawmakers in Parliament, turned to the Constitutional Court with their plea to render the regulations of the two laws null and void, arguing that the conditions under which they were adopted breached both house rules and the fundamental law therefore they are invalid in a public law sense. One of their arguments was that the Speaker did not chair the session from his official seat.
The court rejected the plea, saying rules of guarantee were not harmed as a result of the contested conditions during the parliamentary vote, and it also pointed out that it is the responsibility of the MPs themselves to meet the requirements, e.g. of personal involvement.
The court reminded that opposition and independent MPs blocked the way of the Speaker to his podium, but house rules do not suggest the Speaker may chair the session only from that seat.
Opposition MPs, more than a quarter of the lawmakers in Parliament, turned to the Constitutional Court with their plea to render the regulations of the two laws null and void, arguing that the conditions under which they were adopted breached both house rules and the fundamental law therefore they are invalid in a public law sense. One of their arguments was that the Speaker did not chair the session from his official seat.
The court rejected the plea, saying rules of guarantee were not harmed as a result of the contested conditions during the parliamentary vote, and it also pointed out that it is the responsibility of the MPs themselves to meet the requirements, e.g. of personal involvement.
The court reminded that opposition and independent MPs blocked the way of the Speaker to his podium, but house rules do not suggest the Speaker may chair the session only from that seat.
